REVIEW | TUI fly Deluxe Punta Cana to Brussels

It´s autumn 2023 both my boyfriend Sam and me have a few days off of work together. Sam would like to catch some sun and warmth before the darkness of the winter truly sets in. being November a cruise on the Mediterranean would be a bit too chilly, in Greece most interesting hotels are closed. I was thinking about going to Thailand but flight prices where prohibitively expensive, after consulting a TUI travel agency they recommended us a trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic with an unbeatable price. This would be Sam´s first ever and mine first in a very long time package trip with an all-inclusive hotel.

After 10 days our holiday came to a close and we were ready to leave the dullness of the hotel and to go home. Once again we had a personal taxi service straight from the hotel to the airport.

Upon arrival at the drop-off zone, there was immediately some airport staff that stormed the taxi to grab our bags and take them to the check-in counter. We had to hotfoot in their footsteps to keep up, Sam did not get his time to have a last vape outside.

As there was no one at the check-in we here immediately at the counter, bags tagged and boarding passes issued. After which we continued to security where once again not much was going on, so we were through in no time. Passport control was extremely fast using the automatic gates. We set a new personal record in getting from the curb side to airside in about 15 minutes, something I wouldn’t have expected to be happening in an tropical Caribbean airport.

After this lightning fast experience and Sam having a last vape on the outside smoking terrace we spent some time in the Punta Cana Airport Lounge, arriving at our gate about 5 minutes before boarding is due to start.

As usual boarding starts delayed, but surprisingly there was a priority boarding for VIP Selection and Deluxe passengers.

First we had to go stand in a queue with our bags on the floor so the sniffer dog could have a snif before we were allowed on the bus.

As this was the old Terminal A, it only offers bus and apron boarding positions. The newer Terminal B has boarding bridges, but those are mostly used by US carriers. Luckily unlike most airports, Punta Cana Airport does not fill up the busses to the brim so we were rather quickly driven out to our Dreamliner.

Once again boarding at the second door was through a ramp contraption, people seated at the rear of the aircraft could make use of a normal stair at the rear of the aircraft.

Flight TB162
From Punta Cana (PUJ) 15:05 (15:37) to Brussels (BRU) 5:15+1 (4:45+1)
Flight Time 8 hours and 9 minutes
Boeing 787-8 OO-LOE “Pearl”
Delivered to Thomson Airways in January 2015, flying for TUI fly since March 2018

Once again we had the exact same front row seats on the exact same 787 as our flight to Punta Cana 10 days prior. This time there was an amenity kit besides the pillow, blanket, headphones and water bottle at our seat.

The amenity kit contained some socks, an eye mask, lip balm, face cream and the obligatory toothbrush and toothpaste. It was a basic but nice kit using the nice scented Rituals products.

The crew also served a pre-departure beverage with a choice of champagne or orange juice.

Take-off provided us with a last scenic view of the lush tropics of the Punta Cana region before crossing the ocean on the way back to grey and cold Europe.

After take-off service started again with an aperitif service of a gin & tonic and olive crackers.

Contrary to the previous flight in which the service started front to back, this return flight service started back to front.

This time we didn’t receive a menu, probably as they didn’t know what the Dominican catering partner would be loading onto the flight. When the crew came around asking us for our preferred dinner option they gave us meat, fish or vegetarian to choose from. While he was unable to answer us which fish it was, he could tell us that the meat was beef. After learning from watching ‘Airplane!‘ to never have fish on a plane we both opted for the beef.

On the tray there was a delicious starter of quinoa with avocado, followed by a main of beef with a curry sauce with a asparagus and carrots.

There was a bowl of cheese with a fruit jelly, some salted crackers and butter while the dessert consisted of a cream tartlet, some fruit salad and some sort of cake. The crew also came around with hot breads. Alongside the meal I had some water and a red wine, while Sam went for another gin & tonic and a coke. After the meal we were offered a digestive and some chocolate bites.

While I first wanted a Baileys they had ran out, so I opted for a cognac instead. Of course at this exact point we had a major patch of turbulence and Sam managed to spill his cognac all over the table and seat. After the turbulence was over I enjoyed a hot lemon tea to finish off the first meal service.

As by know the darkness had set in outside I first tried to catch some sleep, but due to the rather early 15:00 departure at Punta Cana I was not sleepy at all, especially considering we would be arriving in Brussels at midnight Dominican time I just gave up on trying to sleep and watched some episodes of ‘The White Lotus‘ on the aircraft entertainment system instead.

About 2 hours before landing we received a breakfast service. I was surprised to see this was a very comprehensive hot meal. Usually on these rather short transatlantic red-eyes you would receive something like a muffin and a yoghurt.

TUI Fly in Deluxe offers a clearly superior product with a hot egg frittata with some potatoes and spinach on the side. There was also a fruit salad and the obligatory yoghurt. The crew also offered some hot buns and croissants (which were surprisingly crispy). Alongside I had some apple juice and black tea to drink.

Landing and approach into Brussels was a rather uneventful affair. Once again during debarking the crew held back the rear of the plane to give priority to Deluxe customers. This was a very welcome gesture as while we had a quick pass through passport control we could see a huge line forming behind us. This time the priority tags on the bags where respected and our bags where already on the belt before I was back from my toilet break.

At arrivals a taxi service was waiting to pick us up, meaning we had a fast and smooth transfer to home where we arrived at a very early 6 AM.

Once again we were very happy with the service that TUI fly provided us with. Their Deluxe service on long-haul is a very good Premium Economy product.

Of course don’t fly them with an expectation of a Business Class product as it clearly is and remains Premium Economy. We were also very much surprised by the taste and quality of the catering out of the Dominican Republic as in my experience catering out of the Americas is usually pretty sad.

They managed to provide us with a tastier meal than we had in the 10 days of our “5-star” hotel. Sam even found the catering on the return flight to be better than on the way out, but that’s more because it was more to his taste rather than the actual meal quality. Once again TUI fly managed to exceed the expectation I set for them as a charter carrier so as long as they can keep up this level, they are a good option to fly.